In Memory of a Great Educator

By Doug Eadie

“Yesterday, attending the memorial service at Shaker Heights High School, made me realize how much of my life -- almost every day since I was 16 years old -- has been a conversation with James Thornton. It’s true for so many of us, isn’t it?”

This is a post by Cleveland attorney Jonathan Leiken on the “In Memory of James Thornton” Facebook page -- one of dozens of tributes to Thornton, who died on March 17 at his farm near Kent, Ohio. Who was James Thornton? What does his life have to do with you and your board colleagues’ responsibility to govern public school districts around the country? Read on.